Llamas And Fibre

Weaving begins with spinning, begins with carding, begins with cleaning, begins with shearing, begins with llamas, begins with hay…

Not all llama fibre is the same. In particular when it comes to guard hair, some individuals are guard hair free, while others’ fibre is heavily laden with it. It is thought that the purpose of guard hair is to serve as a wick that draws water away from the insulating value of the animal’s fibre. This is helpful for animals living in the wild, whereas people domestically breeding for fibre will select for individuals without guard hair. Some of my animals have no guard hair (above). Some have a lot of guard hair (below).

I have raised llamas for twenty years. But I select animals based upon their tractability as pack animals.

The greatest advantage of llama fibre for me is that it is available. I have 20 years of it dried and stored. Looking into having it processed these days is ridiculous, cost-wise. I believe that I will buy an electric carder, and try and figure out how to get it spun. But in due time..

Spinning & Weaving c. 1920

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Cone Winder

Quill Winder

We live in a solitary location in northwest Manitoba. This blog is an online diary primarily about handweaving simple items, and everything connected to that, in this beautiful, quiet, isolated place in the north...